Boone County Fire receives new engine and tanker

COLUMBIA - The Boone County Fire Protection District received two new fire trucks Thursday night, one engine and one tanker, as part of a string of purchases made possible by a $14 million bond issue that passed in April 2014.

As part of the bond, BCFD will purchase six additional engines, two more tankers, two squads and three brush trucks (a type of small fire truck). BCFD funds are being used to purchase another brush truck as well. All 16 vehicles, together an estimated cost of over $5 million, are expected to be delivered by early fall.

The bond will also provide for new fire station upgrades, scheduled to begin on Monday. For the first phase, upgrades will be given to stations in Hallsville, Sturgeon, Centralia and on Drippings Springs Road and Scott Boulevard in Columbia. A second phase will include fitness/training rooms for stations in Lake of the Woods, Rocheport, Harrisburg and Midway. In the third phase, the station on North Route E will be replaced, and a new additional station will be built on Route HH next to the Sun Valley Estates subdivision. The total cost of these upgrades will slightly exceed $7 million.

New self-contained breathing apparatus and portable radios, at a total cost of $1.5 million, were also purchased through the bond.